-
8 mins read|04/04/25Kick Out the Jams. In this episode, we focus on the raw, real work of life in the parish—the ordinary burdens, the hidden insecurities, and the quiet faith that holds it all together. We explore the distinction between philosophy and theology and why attempts to fuse them often leave both diminished. There’s talk of reformation—its drama, its necessity, and its cost. We reflect on the pervasive victim-perpetrator dynamic that shapes so much of modern life and how the gospel when rightly preached, breaks that cycle. At the heart of it all is this: the power of Christ’s mercy to open what we’ve shut tight, to drive out the bitterness we’ve made into habit, and to speak a word stronger than shame.
-
11 mins read|08/16/24Street-Fighting Man. In this episode, we continue our discussion of the question of when it is permissible for Christians to oppose civil authority. It’s more important than ever for Christians to grasp the fundamentals of vocation, the relation of politics to liturgy, the place of the sacraments within the worship of the church, and the life of Christians, why there cannot be such a thing as a Christian nation.
-
10 mins read|06/28/24Tick, Tick, Boom. In this episode of Banned Books, we discuss Romans 3 while reading Philip Melanchthon’s commentary on Paul’s epistle. The main topics of conversation are the limitations of the law, faith that saves, gratuitous forgiveness and the living, and the present tense power of the gospel.
-
10 mins read|09/16/23You can call me any day or night. Call me! In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s verbosely titled treatise, “That a Christian Assembly or Congregation has the Right and Power to Judge all Teaching and to Call, Appoint, and Dismiss Teachers, Established and Proven by Scripture." We discuss ordination, church authority, the doctrine of the pastoral call, and much more.
-
6 mins read|03/18/23I’ve Got That Joy, Joy, Joy, Down in My Heart. In this episode, we discuss death, rebirth, and eternal life as examined and explained in The Joy of Eternal Life by Philip Nikolai.
-
6 mins read|02/22/23Is It True, Or Is It Truly True? In this episode, we discuss election, true and false church, law, mercy, and why we can’t stop judging the Gospel as we read Philip Melanchthon’s 1541 commentary on Paul’s letter to the Romans.
-
10 mins read|05/19/22The point Luther made, again and again, was that distance between God and sinners is collapsed when the crucified Christ himself comes to sinners through a preacher.
-
7 mins read|03/18/22Theologians of glory searched for God everywhere except the Cross of Christ.
-
8 mins read|03/11/22For Luther, those who refuse Christ as a curse want their sin removed not in Christ but in themselves.
-
8 mins read|03/01/22Christ powerless on the Cross is where the false definitions of glory theologies are exposed and everything is turned upside down.
-
9 mins read|02/22/22Luther’s confessions and writings during that time demonstrated the diagnosis of the problem he faced had always been the same.
-
7 mins read|10/27/21Erasmus sought to find meaning behind the words of Scripture in order to make an ultimate claim. Luther, on the other hand, found the Gospel to be meaningless outside of Christ and his Cross.
Loading...
No More Post
No more pages to load